Narumi Takahashi was born in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Her father's job took the family to China when she was nine.[1] She lived in China for five years.[2] She moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada to train with Tran in 2007. As a result, Takahashi is fluent in Japanese, Mandarin and English. In addition to skating, Takahashi also played soccer for six years on a city team.[2]

Narumi Takahashi began skating at age five, following in the footsteps of her elder sister.[2] She won the Japanese bronze medal in novice ladies' singles.[2]

After moving to China at the age of nine, Takahashi continued skating in singles until she was about 12–13 and then switched to pair skating.[1] She skated with Chinese partner Gao Yu for one season; they placed 6th at the 2004 Chinese Championships on the senior level.[2] She decided to leave China and skate for Japan so she asked the Japanese federation for help in finding a partner; she eventually found a partner in Japan but the partnership was unsuccessful due to insufficient height difference.[2]

Takahashi moved to Montreal, Quebec after two years of corresponding with Richard Gauthier, whom she met at a competition in China. Gauthier began looking for a partner for her in Canada. Bruno Marcotte recommended Mervin Tran, who until that point had been a single skater. Tran agreed to come to Montreal for a tryout and the pair began training together in July 2007.[2][3] During their career together, they trained in St. Leonard[4] and received funding from the Japanese skating association.[5]

During the 2011–2012 season, Takahashi/Tran's first Grand Prix assignment was 2011 Skate Canada International, where they finished fourth. They won the silver medal at their second event, 2011 NHK Trophy. In November 2011, Tran said he was considering pursuing Japanese citizenship in order to allow the couple to compete at the Olympics but said it was a difficult decision because it would mean giving up his Canadian citizenship.[6] They became the first Japanese pair to qualify for the senior Grand Prix Final.

At the 2012 World Championships, Takahashi/Tran placed third in both programs and won the bronze medal.[7][8] They became the first pair to medal for Japan at a senior World Championships.[8] They placed third at the 2012 World Team Trophy. In April 2012, Tran said he would continue to consider an application for Japanese citizenship and the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee said he was "willing to make a special request (on behalf of Tran) to the government if necessary."[9][10] In May 2012, a government official said it would be difficult to naturalize Tran because he had never resided in Japan.[11]

In April 2012, Takahashi dislocated her left shoulder while practicing a lift.[12] After five or six recurrences, she decided to undergo surgery on October 30.[13] As a result, the pair withdrew from their 2012–2013 Grand Prix events, the 2012 Cup of China and 2012 NHK Trophy.[12] They said they would miss about four to six months.[13] On December 18, 2012, the Japanese Skating Federation announced that the pair had ended their partnership.[14][15]